How to prevent acne breakouts

Acne is not just a teenager problem. It can happen to anyone regarding of age and gender. A lot of factors can contribute to acne breakouts. Excess oil, dead skin cells, bacteria, clogged hair follicle, inflamed pores are amongst those factors.

Some pimples are small and sits near the surface. Those go away pretty quickly. Others however, develop deeper in the skin, are more painful and take more time to disappear. They may even require some acne treatments.

Regardless, the ideal solution is to prevent acne breakouts altogether. Some causes of pimples are pretty obvious, others a bit less. However, making some changes to your life will be very efficient at preventing them.

Stop touching your face

Touching your face is an unconscious gesture. It is a reflex. You feel like you do not do it often, but you sure do. It can be as simple as resting your chin in your hand or rubbing your hands on your face if you are tired.

I'll tell you what. Let's take some time throughout the day and try pay attention to the amount of time you touch your face. You'll quickly realize that you do it fairly often. The problem is, your hands probably are the dirtiest part of your body.

Simply because they get in contact with so much throughout the day. Indeed, your hands will encounter grime and bacteria constantly. Each time you touch your face, some of those pore-clogging impurities may get transferred to your skin.

This does not mean you cannot touch your face at all. If your nose itches, scratch it. However, do it with clean hands. Wash your hands regularly and try to touch your face as little as possible.

Especially if you have acne prone skin.

Clean your cellphone

Amongst things that get dirty fast and in contact with your face often is your phone. When you are on a call for example. Or even when you text a friend.

Bacteria will transfer from your phone to your hands to your face. That is another reason you need to stop touching your face.

Let's look at this simple scenario. You rest your phone right about against the side of your face while you are on a call.

Your arms get tired or you are a bit fidgety. So you switch to your other side. That is how your bacteria-covered phone will spread bacteria all over your face.

This can potentially cause future breakouts. if you wear makeup regularly, you are even more likely to end up with clogged pore. Indeed, the oils from makeup and your skin unknowingly accumulate on your cell phone.

Make sure you clean your phone with a baby wipe or some hand sanitizer to remove all bacteria, excess oil deposits and dead skin cells.

Wash your pillowcases

Your hands are covered in bacteria. Your cellphone collects skin oils and dead skin cells. But that is not it. Your pillow case does it too.

Hair, skin cells, oil, debris, dust, all of it ends up on your pillow case. This happens while you sleep as well as during the day.

Therefore when you go to sleep, all that dirt will transfer to your face. It can contribute to clogging pores and to acne breakouts. However, there are two ways you can go about prevent acne breakouts.

First, it is important that you wash your pillowcase often. This will help remove any dirt and dust that may clog our pores while you sleep. Second, you can try sleep on your back. Sleeping on your back can eliminate acne cause during sleep.

Indeed, sleeping specifically on your back can keep pores open and refreshed, This will help prevent angry breakouts and flare-ups the next day.

Do not pop pimples

No shame here. We all do it. But that is something you absolutely need to stop! Popping pimples may feel satisfying and efficient at first, it can worsen acne and result in acne scars.

Furthermore, some types of acne such as cystic acne need to be left alone.

What happen when you pop a pimple you may ask? Well to put it simply, you run the risk of pushing the bacteria deeper underneath your skin. Or, it might just as well as spread around. This means that your pimples will multiply.

Clearly not the results you are trying to achieve. Even more so with cystic acne as you may end up with deep cystic lesion. Popping pimples can also results in bleeding, permanent scars, infection or inflammation.

Wash your face before bedtime

Before we get into this, remember the lack of hygiene is not the main cause of acne or pimples. Although there is no acne gene, whether your skin is prone to acne still has a genetic factor. Other factors such as hormones and lifestyle will affect skin and breakouts.

However, you should always wash your skin before bedtime, especially after a busy day or if you've been physically active. Oily skin makes for a breeding ground of bacteria. Bacteria cause blemishes.

Imagine sleeping with your makeup, but also the addition of oil, dirt and debris that has built up on the skin during the day. This can clog pores and trigger new acne breakouts. Washing your face helps remove the excess oil, dirt and sweat.

However, do make sure not to wash your face more than twice a day as it makes acne worse.

Eat a balanced diet

If you are prone to acne or looking to prevent acne breakouts, have a look at your diet and try to make adjustments. Some foods can cause your blood sugar to rise quickly, which boosts your insulin levels.

Too much insulin can trigger changes in your body. Those changes boost the activity of oil producing glands. Excess skin oil is a cause of acne breakouts. Add more whole grains, beans and veggies to your diet.

At the same time, cut back on pasta, white rice, white bread, dairy and sugar. As a rule of thumb, avoid high glycemic foods and beverages

Reduce stress levels

Stress can have a huge impact on your body. Not only does it affect acne flare-up, but it also worsens your overall skin health. This is because your body produces more oil-stimulating hormones when you are stressed.

As your skin produces more oil, pores are more likely to be clogged. Relaxing and relieving stress is not always easy. However, it may help to look for a daily stress reliever that works for you. Some people will do yoga, others will read a book.

There is no one solutions fits all but there are still options.

Stop wearing fitted clothing

One contributing factors to acne breakouts is fitted clothing. Simply because it traps sweat and bacteria against your skin. Your skin cannot breathe, it clogs and then develops pimples.

If you need to wear fitted clothing, pick a material that is moisture wicking. This will help pull the sweat away from your skin. However, prioritize lose-fitting clothings and regularly wash your skin.

On another note, you may notice that wearing bangs cause acne too. Not directly no. However, the hair sitting on your forehead prevents your skin from breathing. This is why you may develop blackheads, whiteheads and other people on your forehead.